MLB Team Report – Cincinnati Reds – INSIDE PITCH
The Reds are 19-7 since May 3. A streak like that will usually put you in first place.
But the Reds are still two games behind the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Central and tied with Pittsburgh for second place after a 6-0 win over the Pirates on Friday.
As hot as the Reds have been, St. Louis and Pittsburgh have been just as hot.
“That’s why they call it a race,” Reds manager Dusty Baker said. “It’s not called a runaway. It’s a race. You just don’t start racing in September. You race all year long. Some years you race a little harder than others. Some years it’s a little tighter than others. It’s all a race.”
Baker was surprised experts picked the Cardinals to finishe third or fourth.
“I don’t know what they were looking at it,” he said. “I didn’t see it.”
The Reds did not move into first place for good until July 22 last year..
“I’m sure they’ve got their eye on us and we’ve got our eye on them,” Baker said. “It makes for better baseball. It brings out the best or worst in you.”
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MLB Team Report – Cincinnati Reds – NOTES, QUOTES
RECORD: 34-21
STREAK: Won one
PAST 10 GAMES: 7-3
NEXT: Reds (Mike Leake 4-2, 3.02) at Pirates (Francisco Liriano (3-1, 2.35)
PLAYER NOTES:
–RHP Johnny Cueto had his strongest outing yet in the three starts he has made since coming off the disabled list, holding Pittsburgh scoreless for eight innings and allowing only one hit — a fifth-inning single by 3B Brandon Inge — in the Reds’ 6-0 victory Friday night. Cueto threw 103 pitches and manager Dusty Baker said he did not want extend him by letting him try for a shutout. Cueto returned to the active roster May 20 after missing five weeks with a strained left lat.
–RF Jay Bruce hit a home run off Pittsburgh LHP Wandy Rodriguez and that was pretty big news. Bruce had been just 2-for-33 against Rodriguez with 16 strikeouts before connecting in the fourth inning.
–C Ryan Hanigan broke an 0-for-10 slide with a seventh-inning single. Hanigan went 1-for-3 with two walks to raise his batting average to .179.
–OF Chris Heisey (strained right hamstring) said before Friday’s game at Pittsburgh that his leg is feeling better and he able to sprint without pain but there is not yet a timetable for when he could to start a rehab assignment in the minor leagues. Heisey has been on the disabled list since April 28. He played in one game for Double-A Chattanooga on May 13 but then had to stop that rehab assignment because he still felt pain.
–RHP Mike Leake (4-2, 3.02) will start Saturday night at Pittsburgh. He is 2-0 with a 0.43 ERA in his last three starts and 4-2 with a 2.13 ERA in his last eight starts. He is 2-3 with a 3.54 ERA against the Pirates in 12 career games. Pittsburgh C Russell Martin is 4-for-10 (.400) off Leake with two strikeouts.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “He looked really good, like the Johnny Cueto of old. He had great stuff, great stamina and just pitching a heckuva ballgame.” — Manager Dusty Baker after a one-hit gem by RHP Johnny Cueto on Friday.
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MLB Team Report – Cincinnati Reds – ROSTER REPORT
MEDICAL WATCH:
–LHP Sean Marshall (sprained left shoulder) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to May 21. Marshall was on the DL due to left shoulder tendinitis from April 10-26.
–LF Chris Heisey (strained right hamstring) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to April 28. He began a rehab assignment May 13 with Double-A Pensacola but re-strained his hamstring. He began outfield work in late May, but there was no timetable for his return as of May 28.
–RHP Nick Masset (right shoulder surgery in September 2012) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to March 22, and he was transferred to the 60-day DL on April 21.
–LF Ryan Ludwick (torn labrum in right shoulder) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to April 1, and he was transferred to the 60-day DL on April 15. Ludwick had surgery April 3. He might not return before July.
ROTATION:
RHP Mat Latos
RHP Bronson Arroyo
RHP Homer Bailey
RHP Mike Leake
RHP Johnny Cueto
BULLPEN:
LHP Aroldis Chapman (closer)
RHP Jonathan Broxton
LHP Manny Parra
RHP Sam LeCure
RHP J.J. Hoover
RHP Alfredo Simon
RHP Logan Ondrusek
CATCHERS:
Ryan Hanigan
Devin Mesoraco
INFIELDERS:
1B Joey Votto
2B Brandon Phillips
SS Zack Cozart
3B Todd Frazier
INF Jack Hannahan
INF Cesar Izturis
OUTFIELDERS:
LF Xavier Paul
CF Shin-Soo Choo
RF Jay Bruce
OF Derrick Robinson
OF Donald Lutz
